


Afterwards

by Burgie



Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-03
Updated: 2019-03-03
Packaged: 2019-11-08 08:17:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17977685
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: After everything, Ariana just wants to see her blind wolf girl. Contains major spoilers for most recent story quests. Ariana belongs to inappropriatestarstable.





	Afterwards

**Author's Note:**

  * For [inappropriatestarstable](https://archiveofourown.org/users/inappropriatestarstable/gifts).



This was familiar. Or at least, the surroundings were. But that was where the familiarity stopped. Sure, Ariana was riding along the road that led to Mistfall, past Birk's Grange, the thought of only one blind girl in her mind. But this time, there was no gentle teasing coming from Lionhunter. Not after everything that had happened. Ariana didn't even feel the same, her heart seeming too heavy in her chest, a depth of emotion that threatened to spill over. But she hadn't been able to grieve with her friends. Hadn't wanted to. They were all struggling enough, Daine looked like he was dying, Via and Astor, usually the jokesters of the group, were quiet, and Louisa... she'd felt Elizabeth…

"Are you... okay?" Lion asked tentatively as he cantered along the road. Ariana shook her head, her blond hair swishing around her face, tears welling in her eyes as she bit her bottom lip. She was glad that there was nobody around to see her. Nobody needed to know that she cried, that she felt emotions. She was supposed to be the cool one, dammit.

"If you tell anyone, I'll send you to the glue factory," Ariana muttered, but she could feel Lion's concern for her anyway. The only upside to this whole shitty situation, if there was one, was that she'd somehow grown a little closer to Lion as a result.

Lion didn't speak after that, as they continued along the road. Ariana felt her heart getting a little lighter the closer they got to the sleepy village of Dundull. It always did, though admittedly, she also visited Dundull for... other things. But today, she didn't want any of those carnal delights that she normally craved (or claimed to crave, anyway). All she wanted was someone to hold her, someone to cuddle, because everyone else had someone that they clung to but Ariana... had nobody. Hell, even Izzy had Rin, who'd insisted on swinging by to pick her up and take her back to her place to unwind with a movie. There was probably a lot of crying happening, there. Not that Ariana could judge- she'd probably be doing a lot of crying, herself. And Rania wouldn't judge because she was wonderful and better than what Ariana deserved. Hell, she certainly hadn’t judged last night, when Ariana had shown up at the front door because she really hadn’t wanted to sleep alone.

It thankfully didn't take long to reach Dundull, and, mercifully, Dellingr was in the yard, signalling that Rania was home and not out on some adventure. Rania always took Dellingr with her, after all, both because she needed to so she could 'see' and because she didn't want her boy to miss out on any adventures. That thought never failed to bring a smile to Ariana's face. Even today, it brought a tiny smile. And, thankfully, that smile stayed as Ariana knocked on the front door of the Varanger house. Not that Rania would see it, if it was her who answered the door, but she'd probably be able to hear it in her voice. Lion didn't even complain about being with Dellingr, the horse who harboured a crush on him. Unless he'd accepted that part of himself now. Who knew. Shrugging, Ariana knocked on the door and waited.

The sound of boots soon answered Ariana's knock at the door, and she was a little intimidated at the sight of Sigry Varanger.

"Ah, Ariana, good morning," said Sigry. "Or afternoon. Day. Good day." Ariana gave a small laugh that sounded choked. Fuck, why had that affected her so badly?

"What are you, Australian?" said Ariana, thankfully able to inject some of her usual sarcasm into her voice. "Is Rania in?"

"Lucky for you, yes, she is," said Sigry. "She's listening to a podcast, apparently she's found a new one."

"Another one about a small, creepy town?" Ariana asked. God, even just talking about Rania was helping. Sigry chuckled.

"Yep, this one about a murderous zebra, apparently," said Sigry. "Though, I've heard that it's a bit risque..." She gave Ariana a suspicious look, to which Ariana held her hands up in front of her.

"Hey, I don't listen to podcasts," said Ariana. "Don't look at me. Maybe Louisa introduced it to her."

"Oh, that's right, assign the blame to someone else," said Sigry, but her voice and expression were playful. Laughing. She stepped aside. "Come on in, she's just in her room."

Stepping inside of the Varanger household always felt like coming home now, a fact that Ariana loved. The wooden floorboards, the faux fur rugs patterning the walls and floor, the huge stone fireplace with a faux wolf fur rug in front of it (that she blushed to look at), the handmade shields and spears that hung on the walls along with photographs and artwork and wall tapestries... it was all unlike anything that Ariana was usually into, but she loved it all the same. This house felt like home in the same way that Jarlaheim felt like home. And Ariana had plenty of good memories of coming here for Christmas dinner last year, and several other dinners besides. And she'd eaten breakfast in their rustic little kitchen, with the handcarved barstools at the counter (also carved out of wood), so many times now after staying the night.

Rania's bedroom, too, was familiar, as was the sight of Rania lying on her bed, eyes closed while she listened to a podcast. Her hands were folded over her stomach, and she really looked quite comfortable.

Until Sigry picked up a wolf plush and dropped it onto Rania's stomach. Rania gave a little scream as she scrambled up, the wolf plush bouncing off her stomach and onto the bed once before it found its final resting place on the floor. Rania paused her podcast (her earbuds had buttons on the cord with controls for her jPhone, which was really quite useful for her), pulled her earbuds out, and somehow managed to glare directly at her mother. Though that wasn't hard, with how hard Sigry was laughing.

"Breathe, mama," said Rania, her voice flat. While Sigry got herself under control, Rania bristled. "I was up to a good part," she muttered, her cheeks darkening in a blush.

"A sex scene, you mean?" Ariana asked. And, at the sound of her voice, Rania's face broke into a huge grin that made Ariana feel like she might be about to burst. She brushed away tears, glad that Sigry didn't see.

"Ariana! I thought I smelled your perfume," said Rania, getting to her feet. She easily made her way over to Ariana, touching her cheek first before drawing her in for a kiss.

"You didn't say no," said Sigry, arching a brow. Rania rolled her eyes.

"Mama," said Rania. Sigry laughed again, making her way towards the bedroom door.

"I'm just teasing," said Sigry. "Want me to close the door behind me?"

"Yes please," said Rania. Sigry was still chuckling as she closed the door on her way out. But Rania only squeezed Ariana's hands, smiling at her.

"Were you, though?" Ariana asked. Rania shrugged, then gave a tiny nod. Ariana gasped. "And they all think I'm corrupting you!" Rania laughed, pulling Ariana over towards the bed. Ariana wasn't exactly surprised to find a complete lack of desire, though. She'd just seen someone die, it was a bit hard to feel horny after that.

"Oh, if only they knew," said Rania, pulling Ariana closer to her as soon as Ariana sat on the bed. Ariana soon found herself curled facing her girlfriend, their foreheads almost touching. They exchanged a few soft, lazy kisses, but Ariana made sure to keep Rania's hands above her waist.

"Sorry," said Ariana as she moved Rania's hand again. "I'm just... not feeling it today. I'm not in the right headspace."

"What's wrong?" Rania asked, immediately concerned rather than trying to get some. Ariana's heart ached at the quick switch. Rania was just so... so caring. What the hell had she done to deserve this absolute sweetheart? And Rania's hand smoothing over Ariana's hair was so kind and gentle that Ariana felt a tear slip down her face.

"Someone I know... died," said Ariana, struggling to even say the word. Because that would make it real. "Don't worry, it wasn't one of my friends or horses, we didn't even get along very well, but... she was so kind, at her heart, and I never really appreciated her, and now she's..." The tears were flowing freely now, and Rania wrapped her arms around Ariana tightly.

"Death is always hard," said Rania. "Was it expected?"

"No," said Ariana. "And maybe that's what fucks me up the most, because it shouldn't have happened, there was so much more she was going to teach us and... and none of us are okay after that."

"Hey, I don't blame you," said Rania. "But are you sure you shouldn't be with them? Wait, you were with your friends, right?"

"Yeah," said Ariana, nodding. "My friends all saw it, too. And we should be celebrating because we got Anne back but we can't because we lost Elizabeth right after that and..." She dragged her fingers through her hair, her lips trembling. "Now what the fuck do we do?"

"You grieve," said Rania. "Grieving is healthy, it's all part of the process. The cycle of life. Sometimes, people die, and there's nothing you can do about it."

"Maybe I could've done something if I'd been there," said Ariana. "But no, I was stuck outside. And then my friends came out and told me what happened and I just- I don't know why I'm so upset over this! I'm Ariana, I don't care about anyone but myself." Rania snorted, not unkindly.

"If you think so," said Rania. "But I know you better than that, Miss Fell for a Wolf." Ariana made a noise that was half a laugh and half a sob.

"That was fucking terrible," said Ariana.

"Got you to laugh, though, didn't it?" said Rania, smiling.

"I guess," said Ariana, shrugging. "And maybe you're right, maybe I should've been with my friends, but things aren't going so well for them, either. Pandoria affected some of them really badly, and Louisa... well, you know she's an empath, right?"

"Yes, she's told me that," said Rania. "She's like Yellowfa-" Her eyes suddenly widened, her mouth falling open as the implication sunk in. "Oh no, she didn't..."

"Yeah, she did," said Ariana, nodding. "She felt when it happened."

"Argh, this is why Yellowfang never went into battles," said Rania.

"I literally have no idea what you're talking about," said Ariana. Rania shrugged.

"I'll get you to read them someday," said Rania.

"Yeah, and pigs might fly," said Ariana with a roll of her eyes. But maybe she'd do a quick wiki search, just to get the basics. If only to see that bright smile on Rania's face.

"So you decided to come to me instead of stay with your friends because they've all got enough to deal with," said Rania. "Does that about sum it up?" Ariana nodded, then vocalised her answer.

"Yep, pretty much," said Ariana. "And maybe I wanted a distraction, or maybe I just felt lonely because they've all got someone to cuddle up to and I've got nobody."

"Well, I'm happy to be your distraction," said Rania. "Even if not in the usual way."

"Honestly? And if you tell anyone, I'll deny everything, but you're a good distraction just on your own," said Ariana. "You make me happy, not to get sappy or anything."

"Oh, you can be sappy," said Rania. "I love sappy. I love hearing how much you love me." Ariana blushed, her hand going to play with one of Rania's braids.

"Alright, fine," said Ariana. "I feel... calmer, now that I'm here. I literally walked in the front door and I felt at home. That's probably weird, isn't it?" But now, there were tears in Rania's eyes.

"Like mama said, you're always welcome here," said Rania. "Always, no matter what time it is. I promise."

"You're so sweet," said Ariana, her eyes filling with tears again as she leaned in to plant a kiss on Rania's lips. "That's what I love about you." And she loved how utterly unphased Rania was by all of this Pandoria business. And yet, Rania hadn't gone on a mission with Ariana yet. Ariana never wanted her to, and so far, Rania had respected Ariana's wishes to stay the heck away from the druids. And now, Ariana had seen how dangerous it was. She felt her throat close up at the thought of losing Rania. Not that Rania was helpless, but Elizabeth hadn't exactly been helpless, either, and look what had happened to her.

But Ariana wouldn't do the stupid 'hero' thing of being overprotective of her girlfriend. She also wouldn't leave her for her own safety, because she knew that Rania was just stubborn enough to get involved anyway. But at least she could talk to Rania about this. That was one small mercy.


End file.
